Business Channel 2007-01-01&03

Wal-Mart stores are trying to play a computerized matching game with workers and customers. It, it's a new scheduling system that Wal-Mart started testing late last year. A computer calculates when customers are likely to be in a given store and then it schedules workers accordingly. So far it's been used for clerks and customer service people, but Richard, Wal-Mart expects to roll it out to all hourly workers. And Wal-Mart's the biggest private employer in the US, so that's a lot of people this could affect.

That's very interesting, you know, technology. Amazing what we can do with it. Has it resulted though, Darby, in hours being cut?

Well, a Wal-Mart spokesperson says no, hours have not been cut for employees. But this could still have a negative impact on workers. By scheduling workers during peak hours they may essentially 2 be on call and a work schedule without predictability could make scheduling childcare and other aspects of life more difficult. Wal-Mart, however, counters by saying that workers will get more certainty now, because actually the schedules will come out three weeks in advance with this computer system.

Ah, we'll have to wait and see.Google, also doing yeah, Google, also doing something too, right?

Yeah, Google is up to some interesting stuff. The, er, Google is the, of course, the company known for helping 3 people search the web. Well, it's now figuring out new ways for its managers to search for potential hires. Google, of course, is known as an eccentric place to work, and as it expands finding people who are gonna fit in could be difficult. The New York Times says that Google is asking applicants 4 to fill out an online survey. Google then uses a unique software engine to search the 100,000 applications that it gets each month. The New York Times says Google has doubled its workforce 5 in each of the last three years, and it could hire 200 people per week in the coming year. So it's er, quite a lot of new employees.

Yeah, and Google known for hiring the best of the best. How did they come up with this system?

Well, it all kind of started by Google asking its current workers to fill out a survey, and then the company used that information to see if it could come up with a profile for who would be a successful worker. The survey is designed to explore things like your attitude, your behavior, your personality and even some biographical details, so they are digging deep.

You gotta be careful when you're looking to Google, I guess. Yeah. Ah, you know, a not necessarily good news, one person losing his job. It might have been written on the Wall, but the CEO at Home Depot 6.

Yeah, as, as of recently, just a few months ago, he says, he said it wasn't gonna happen, but the news today is that, that Home Depot which is the largest home improvement retailer 7 is looking to build a brighter further with a different CEO. Robert Nardelli is stepping down, and Vice 1 Chairman Frank Blake will take over. You know, Nardelli had been criticized for his huge pay package at a time when the stock wasn't doing all that well. Critics also say that his management style was inflexible 8. Home Depot stock today is jumping on the news up almost 4% the last time I checked. Nardelli is not walking away empty-handed though, he is getting a severance 9 package valued at, brace 10 yourself, 210 million dollars. Richard, I'd wanna know where we can sign up for that kind of thing.

Yeah, you know, I, I bet you he's just gonna get some flak for that one though.

Yeah, I, I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about it, but we'll see, it's a lot of money.


Vocabulary


roll sth. out phrasal v. to introduce a new product or service
The company expects to roll out the new software in September.

flak n. If you get a lot of flak from someone, they criticize you severely 11.
The President is getting a lot of flak for that.